Although the Somali delegation to the Beijing Olympic Games came back to the country last week unnoticed just like they went out, the athletes as well as the officials have said that both China and the Games left them with a lasting impressions.

"We have been received warmly by China and its people as we arrived in the capital Beijing which has changed significantly since I have been there last time," Aden Haji Yabarow, Vice President of Somali Olympic Committee, told Xinhua in Mogadishu.

Yabarow, who has been to China a couple of times before, said the changes he saw this time round was "unbelievable", noting the country has undergone tremendous transformation in every sphere.

Speaking about the organization of the Games, he said that he had never seen anything like it before and predicted that the pageantry at display at the Beijing Olympic Games may not be repeated for decades to come.

"The elaborate representation of scenes from Chinese history, culture and traditions as well as the rich display of traditional Chinese costumes, the fireworks, the magnificent sports venues and all the rest were things unmatched by anything I have seen in the last few Olympic Games I have been to," Yabarow said. "And I do not think we will see them in the coming decades".

Somali Olympic Committee, locally known by its Somali acronym GOS, managed to send two young athletes to represent Somalia at the Games despite 18 years of civil strife that Somalia has endured.

Although the athletes did not win medals they were proud that their country was present at the Games and the national flag was raised at the Games.

Abdinasir Saeed, one of the two athletes, said he was happy Somalia was not left out, adding that it meant a lot to him to have the national Somali flag among those of more than 200 countries from around the world.

"It is a great feeling to see your country's flag flying among the others and we have achieved a lot considering what our country has been through for two decades."

Saeed said that he was very impressed by the Chinese people who he described as polite, civilized, and friendly.

"We were really welcomed by the Chinese people everywhere we went during our stay in China. We were received by the smiling faces of the Chinese people who are really courteous," Saeed noted.

Saeed, who has never been outside Africa, said he was also stunned by the sheer beauty of the capital which he said, was magical and sophisticated.

Samia Yusuf, a young woman in her teens, was the only female athlete at the Games from the war-torn Horn of African country of Somalia.

She said she enjoyed a lot during her stay in Beijing. She said she liked the opening and the closing ceremonies in particular.

"The music, the different performances, the fireworks and the Chinese local costumes were all very fabulous," Samia told Xinhua.

"I have never seen anything like it," she added.

(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2008)